tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63398067795544788512024-03-20T21:18:06.877-07:00Survivor Tocantins:The Brazilian Highlandssheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-21976631718645280172011-09-26T13:24:00.000-07:002011-09-26T13:31:35.578-07:00Finale: Part 3 and The Reunion<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 1pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><sdtpr></sdtpr><sdt id="89512082" showingplchdr="t" storeitemid="X_F8215636-5B68-4031-B390-F9DB05BF5EB6" text="t" title="Post Title" xpath="/ns0:BlogPostInfo/ns0:PostTitle"></sdt></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">So let’s get down to the votes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Warrior (JT) (Coach’s vote), JT, JT,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the winner of Survivor Tocantins- JT…</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">JT, is the second winner to sweep every single jury vote. The last was Earl Cole in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fiji, and lets face it- nobody would have voted to Dreamz or Cassandra. Well, JT’s win is deserving,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but as I mentioned- my vote would have been for Stephen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think JT got votes because he did a better job at swaying the jury than Stephen did. Stephen, as some may put it, suffered for Amanda-syndrome as he made the same mistakes that she did- dodging the jury’s questions and not owning up to their strategic plays. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In all fairness to Stephen, he was definitely stunned that JT would throw him under the bus so easily and quickly and he certainly did not expect it. And as it turns out, I was right that JT was faking being upset to gain some extra votes</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Unity in a tribe pre-merge is important. As Brendon says that it was because Timbira was so dysfunctional and that’s why the tribe lost numbers post-merge and splintered apart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Erinn points how her big move was realizing that she was at the bottom of the totem pole in her tribe and by jumping ship, she had a better chance of winning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A special moment was given to Taj and the memorable scene at the auction was shown again. Jeff says that her husband, Eddie George, should be on Survivor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Tyson was also given a special tribute and his funnier scenes were shown. If u read the older blog posts, you will know that Tyson will return for Survivor soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The audience loves Sierra- no surprise. She mentions how much she grew after initially being on the outside of her tribe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Coach gets a lot of screen time. We get reminded about his stories about the amazon and the shark attack and whatever else. As a surprise, Coach also had a polygraph test and it turns out he was being honest- so he was really captured by a cannibal tribe in the Amazon. Jeff says he the one of the most colorful and controversial characters ever- and I agree. Coach is a really good player to watch return. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Debbi’s schools is happy for her, Sydney is back modeling (no surprise) and Spencer had a blast, Jerri reminds everyone how dangerous it was, Candice is on commercials, Joes infection has cleared, and Carolina is happy that a Jalapoa person wins (***Spoiler- Carolina will be<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sitting on the second row in season 22, but she will not be playing- confusing?) And who can forget Sandy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">JT redeems himself by saying that he could not have done it without Stephen and Jeff reminds them that they are not at tribal council anymore.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A really nice way to end this season <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Next Season we take a tribe to Samoa. Having watched the season already, I can<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>confirm that it is one of the best and a final jury vote that is the most controversial ever. We get to meet Russel Hantz- you better learn that name because he will be the most polarizing players between season 19 and season 23, where his legacy remains. Until then…</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Just as this season has ended, so too must this blog. I had a lot of fun writing this blog and I cant wait to do it again for the next season. Thank you to my readers and to the people who spread the word about my blog- without your support, I wouldn’t have given up, but I would have lost some of my enthusiasm. Another special thanks to TrueDorkTimes and some of the Survivors- Stephen, Erinn, Taj, Sugar and Parvati to name a few, for the tweets and questions I had about the show that they answered on twitter .Starting this blog, my target was 500 readers, and that seemed impossible. But shockingly, it grew to 1020 in a short time and I was amazed. At times I was a bit obsessive, but what can in I say- I’m a die hard fan. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to miss blogging this season <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Well until next season….</span></div>
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sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-78953904213111262782011-09-26T12:39:00.000-07:002011-09-26T12:39:34.654-07:00The Finale: Part 2<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time for my favorite part of the game- facing the jury…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I must say, that anticipating the outcome of the game, I feel that Stephen played a much more strategic game and that, despite my opinion that the vote will be close, he will win because he had the Exile Alliance (Taj, Sierra and Brendon), whom he bonded with very early in the game and Erinn, whom he had a close friendship with after the merge. I thought that Jt would get recognition for being very likable and tough in challenges, but I had doubts as to whether that would be enough. Let’s see if I was correct…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephen made a grave mistake in his early comment by saying yet again that he and JT shared the same brain. As I pointed, he is already not showing the jury why he played a separate and identifiable game from JT and he is not distancing himself from JT enough. The jury wants to know how you played a better game than the other person- not what you and your competitor did together to make it to the end. However he deserved credit for pointing out that he wasn’t an outdoor person and the fact that he adapted to the harsh conditions of survivor and grew as an individual, shows just how well he played the game. In comparison, JT who grew up on a farm was already accustomed to this environment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">JT took a different route by pointing out that he made good friendships and that it was hard to vote out any of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He targets Brendon specifically by saying that he had to vote Brendon out because Brendon would have made it to the end. Is he suspecting the Brendon would vote for Stephen and he is trying to sway Brendon now? He also points out the fact that despite Stephen being a harder competitor to beat, he still chose Stephen to sit with him at the end. His argument seemed a little more convincing because he seemed to be flattering the jury when owning up to the moves he made.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephen answers Brendon’s question about his athletic ability by saying that he knew that he wasn’t much of a sports person, but focused on the “outwit” element of the game. JT deflects his answer by saying that growth in this game should mean nothing and that he outplayed Stephen. He further retaliates by saying that he putting himself on the line during the challenges is better than Stephen floating under the radar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erinn opens a can of worms by reminding everyone that Stephen made a lot of alliances that were betrayed. Stephen responds by saying that it was part of the game. Erinn questions Jt as the reasons why he chose Stephen to the end, and Jt responds by talking about Stephens loyalty. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Debbi questions whether she was wrong about JT’s first impression that he was an honest guy. JT responds by telling her advice that his mother gave him about how he should do anything to win this game. This answer may be more favorable to Debbi, who is a mother herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Debbi asks Stephen a tougher question as to whether he would have chosen Erinn or JT to sit next to him. After Stephen dodges her a bit, he admits that he would have chosen JT. At this point, JT drops his head with disappointment. Is he for real or is he just acting to sweep a few loose sympathy votes? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach gave some philosophical quote that i could not follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a bit funny when bit funny when he referred to them as the wizard and the warrior- typical Coach. Jt butters up Coach by saying that he risked a million dollars to by choosing Stephen and mentioned that he gave it his all. Stephen said that he is honorable because he is not made JT look bad in front of the jury and because he stuck with the vote every tribal council, unlike Jt, who would say he was voting for someone and then make a wasted vote so that he would not directly be voting off that person. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXHrPVFTP7cjplNh0t16FgPGrw6Nh9pTdUKzlqutRge2S0RqY0V02LFRjE80MJRciOund1iPAVKlpmV8GLIqn0zudFKjyNLPM2ibJgBusOXscj2GxUY-OLakDOFoGZGS7FVEhJLxn_9vS/s1600/Sierraq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXHrPVFTP7cjplNh0t16FgPGrw6Nh9pTdUKzlqutRge2S0RqY0V02LFRjE80MJRciOund1iPAVKlpmV8GLIqn0zudFKjyNLPM2ibJgBusOXscj2GxUY-OLakDOFoGZGS7FVEhJLxn_9vS/s200/Sierraq.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sierra tells Stephen that she still thinks he is a sweetheart. ‘She points out that JT lied when he said he is taking the strongest person to the end, because Taj was stronger than Erinn and Stephen. JT says that he believes that Stephen is the strongest player, and Sierra turns the tables and says that if he chose Tyson, Brendon or Debbi to sit next to him, who were much stronger players, he would have earned his vote. She tells him that she has lost some respect for him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tyson asks them about the extent to which they the duo worked together helped them get to the end. Jt further drops Stephen by saying that he could have made it to the end without his help. I doubt that in my personal opinion. I believe that Stephen was safe regardless because he had the Exile Alliance and the Hidden Immunity Idols in place, and that JT sort of piggy backed onto that alliance. Stephen should have mentioned that, but I think he was just shocked that JT devalued their friendship so easily. I don’t blame Stephen- that was a cruel blindside, so to speak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And finally Taj… the only Jalapoa member on the jury. The music is makes things a bit emotional, which is fitting for what she has to say. JT softens her up by saying that voting her off was the hardest vote he ever cast…hasn’t he been saying more or less the same thing to Coach and Debbi? Finally Stephen works JT by blaming her getting voted off on JT. He also brings up that JT wanted to blindside her with the idol before the merge. JT is not happy with this, and Stephen rightfully defends himself by saying that this is the first time he is taking a shot at JT, despite JT shooting him down all night in front of the jury. JT then tries to get the jury’s sympathy yet again by reminding him that e would have taken Erinn if he won the challenge. I don’t see how this decision is relevant because Stephen only considered it. He was not put in the position where he was forced to make that choice. Cut!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Its time to vote…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj says: “I’m a woman of my word, but you try being a man in the same way”. Who is she voting for? Despite the fact like she seems to be saying that the person is not a man of their word, she still votes for them. I’m more inclined to think that this vote is for Stephen, however, it could go either way…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach writes: “THE W…..” what is it? The Warrior or The Wizard? The anticipation is high!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wow. Imagine what Jt and Stephen must be going through. If you don’t know, they wait for a good few months for The Reunion, where the votes will be revealed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stay tuned for the votes…..</span></div>
sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-73545561217513574812011-09-26T11:23:00.000-07:002011-09-26T11:23:56.989-07:00The Finale Part 1<div style="border-bottom: windowtext 1.5pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding-bottom: 1pt; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The finale is here! After about 14 weeks this blog is comming to an end, and i am going to miss it :(</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Firstly, let me do a brief opener to the final four...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a long, unpredictable and challenging game, JT, Stephen and Taj has defied all odds and numbers and joined forces with Erinn, and has now found themselves in the finals…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj, after being exiled during the earlier weeks of the game, quickly created an Exile Alliance with Stephen on her tribe, and Brendon and Sierra from Timbira, found the Hidden Immunity Idol and later, with Stephen, abandoned the Exile Alliance after the merge. Prior to the merge, she has proved to be one of the most strategic people in the game prior to the merge, but after placing herself in a comfortable position post merge, she has slackened off with strategizing. Will this come back to bite her? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephen, initially part of the Exile Alliance, abandoned the alliance and joined forces with his close friend JT, and made separate alliances with every member of Timbira after the merge, and ended up having a hand in voting each of them out. Will this cost him a million dollars, or will his strategic gameplay be rewarded?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">JT developed a close friendship with Stephen from day one and had found himself in a position of power after the merge when the Timbira tribe put their faith in his hands. He is well liked by his competitors and is a physical threat in challenges. Will he put his friendship with Stephen first or will he do whatever it takes to win the game?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erinn had a target on her back from day 4 after being on the outside of Timbira. Her plan was to survive until the merge and jump ship with the Jalapoa members, play under the radar and make it to the end. Will this strategy pay off for her, despite betraying her initial tribe?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On face value, it is anyone’s game…lets see how this plays out…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first immunity challenge took the form of tarantula maze, finishing with a puzzle. Jt took the lead, and won immunity…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephen and Jt went back and forth with deciding whether to keep Erinn or Taj. They eventually decide to vote out Taj…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj had come a long way to make it to the end. She made powerful alliances and built strong friendships to ensure that she would not only be safe, but also to ensure that she would make enough friends to hopefully get their vote. Furthermore, she remained motherly to her fellow competitors and gained a lot of respect for making it so far without having her family. Taj, I believe, was the biggest threat to win this game. Unfortunately, the power was out of her hands this time. She was able to make big strategic moves, yet remain respected and likable, and that is why she was given the boot tonight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Farewell Taj- you will be missed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Down to three…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephen and Erinn both realize that their best shot to win this game is to stick together and vote off JT. They realize that JT will be too hard to beat and the plan to work hard enough to beat him at the final immunity challenge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The fallen comrades…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carolina…Candice…Jerri…Sandy…Spencer…Sydney…Joe…Brendon…Tyson…Sierra…Debbi…Coach...and Taj….an amazing cast with so many competitors….great personalities…and some truly spectacular blindsides…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The immunity challenge required a lot of focus and concentration on the mechanics of motion and speed. I thought Stephen had this challenge in the bag…but JT just barely managed to last longer than him and won immunity. At this point, JT has won more immunity challenges than anyone in this season; however some past competitors like Kelly Wigglesworth, Colby Donaldson, Tom Westman, Jenna M, and Terri Deitz have won more challenges- there will certainly be more challenge dominators in the future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">JT now has to battle with the classic decision of who to keep. Should he remain loyal to his best friend Stephen or vote him off. Does he have a better chance at beating Erinn? How will his decision be viewed upon by the Jury? Is he digging his own grave? This is why I love final two juries as opposed to final three…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erinn makes the case that he can beat her much more easily than Stephen. Stephen reminds JT that they were loyal to each other from the beginning and they made promises to each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephen may be putting his foot in his mouth by telling Jt about the strategic moves that he has made because it could set off alarm bells in his head and making him alert to the possibility that he could be a bigger threat. At the same time, Stephen could have messed his chances up with the Jury by saying “they shared the same brain” because to win, you have to stand out from the person sitting next to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why this game is so tough- you cant let your competitor see yourself as a threat- so you have to make them think that you are weak and undeserving, while simultaneously, you have to look deserving in the eyes of the jury to give them to vote for you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jt decides to take Stephen to the end to remain loyal. He also says that he wants to go up against the best. This could be a clever tactic that JT is implementing to show the jury that he is not afraid and this could earn him respect votes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The vote is read and JT has spoken…Erinn’s came has came to an end….</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Up next…the battle of David and Goliath- brains versus brawn, the Wizard and the Warrior, The Country mouse versus the City mouse. In history, brains have triumphed. Will this be the case again? </span></div>
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sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-39875346788987069552011-09-26T10:00:00.000-07:002011-09-26T10:00:20.059-07:00Survivor Tocantins Episode 13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have decided to upload this episodes blog on the day of the finale because I still feel as though the finals should be about the remaining five people in the game. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For many Coach fans, like myself, this episode was bitter sweet. We could to see some classic Coach scenes when he feigned weakness, his monastic approach to Exile Island, the grueling endurance challenge and his farewell (for now). The saving grace, as many true survivor fans would know, is that Coach will return for an All Star season and he is currently on screen on Survivor: South Pacific. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach is unwell, or so he claims to be. His back is supposedly hurt and his asthma is affecting him. Is he putting on a weak façade to deflect attention of him and make him be perceived as a less physical threat, or is he truly weakened after being out here for more than a month?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jt wins the reward (yet again) and selects his number one ally, Stephen to accompany him at the hotel. He then chooses Coach to go to Exile, and sparks fly between Coach and Erinn when Coach’s monastic approach ticks Erinn off as she believes he is making excuses or trying to create the impression that his stay at Exile will be worse than hers or anyone else’s. Clearly, everyone in the game thinks that Coach is faking it- as Taj puts it: “had he won, the warrior would have been back”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Coach’s unbreakable, ‘god can’t touch me’ and invincible approach to Exile, combined with the renaissance/monarchal background music was spectacular. Not forgetting his tales of the amazon and his honorable gameplay, this is why Jeff wanted Coach back so many times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the reward, JT and Stephen reaffirm that they will be in the final two together. Is this a good move? Both these guys have played a really strong game and both are deserving of being the sole survivor. Is one of them making a fatal move? Will something happen to sever this bond? Or will one of them make a deadly error and cost them a shot at the million dollars?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach returns from Exile for the immunity challenge and plays up the how hard it was on him. True or not, it’s a good strategy, because if people think you weak and that they can beat you, they wouldn’t be too concerned with voting you out for the time being. Coach could also be building up deranged personality to be a ‘goat’ in front of the jury for the final vote. I disagree with many people who believe that nobody in their right minds would vote for him to win, because if he can show the jury how he made it to the end with minimal lies and backstabbing, he will gain enough respect to win. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj delivers another quirky line- “Any 37 year old man that thinks he is a dragon slayer belongs in a mental institution.” This kind off echoes onto the perceptions of new players, such as Rick from Coach’s latest season, who says: “I have never seen a dragon slayer before, there aren’t any dragons”. Clearly, not everyone enjoys the persona that Coach has sculpted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back to the current game- this is one of my favorite immunity challenges. It tests pure willpower to stay in this game. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly), Coach and JT are the last two standing. Coach questions JT’s loyalty and asks him why he wants to beat him so badly for immunity. With a final battle cry, Coach slips and falls to the ground and is attended to by the remaining tribe mates, and JT wins immunity yet again. Coach did a great job. Despite having a back injury, he puts up a good match against Jt- clearly mind can overpower matter. (***Spoiler Alert- JT will go up against Parvati Shallow in the exact same challenge in a future season- who will be the last person standing?***)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does Coach know that he is in trouble? This blog won’t be complete without Coach’s pre-exit poem, which bored the jury…</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“With friend and foe we march to the battle plain;</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some to seek success, others to seek fame;</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We play with honor for the love of this game;</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And with armor or without, we will toil in vain;</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So that someday, someone, somewhere, will remember our name…”</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At tribal, JT does not vote for Coach. This puts JT up a few notches in winning the Jury vote, and supposedly makes him look more loyal than Stephen, despite him formulating the plan to send Coach packing. Will this come back to haunt either Stephen or JT? In all honesty, if JT wanted to save Coach, he would have convinced Stephen to vote off Erinn. I believe that JT knew that Coach was going home, and decided to try and look good in Coach’s eyes by not voting for him…Stephen is not the Evil Wizard (as Coach puts its), in my opinion, maybe JT was the Un-noble Warrior? I can’t help wondering if this is foreshadowing what the jury will decide… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sadly, the hidden immunity idol was not played…but be warned, in the next to seasons, the idol will definitely shake tribal council…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, it was certainly hard to write this blog without making it all about Coach- because this episode was all about him! Goodbye Coach, for now. He certainly will have a lot to say during his comments as a juror. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The blog which I will post for the finale in a few hours will be spilt into three parts…</span></div>
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sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-57254628377249329342011-09-12T08:51:00.001-07:002011-09-12T08:51:14.330-07:00Survivor Tocantins Episode 12<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So we are nearing the end of Survivor: Tocantins and this game keeps getting interesting with some real jaw dropping moments (the mind boggling immunity challenge) and the much loved auction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This week, I’m only going to highlight three moments from this episode- Debbi starting to play this game too late, the emotional and endearing auction and not forgetting Stephens flawless and genius way of winning immunity.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How do you put a price on love?</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some memorable past items won at auctions…Amber bidding over 300 dollars on a mystery item that turned out to be water, Christie saving her money till the end and bidding on letters from home, Danni buying a clue for help in the next immunity challenge which helped her slide to the finals and win, Parvati soaking in a bubble bath and eating chocolate cake, the infamous cookie war between Randy and Sugar, and not forgetting Erik licking chocolate cake off Cirrie’s fingers for $40…memorable as those are, this Survivor Auction<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is my favorite...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj’s bidding moment was special. For a loved one message, everyone pools their money to Taj. This says a lot about this group of players. Ignoring strategy, they are united and have a deep connection with each other. Also, there aren’t many truly devious villains left in this game. Taj’s reaction when Jeff reminded her that her husband said- “see you back at camp” was truly memorable and beautiful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jeff gives Taj a choice and there was a slight sense that he was asking her if she was willing to forgo a visit from her husband in exchange for the rest of the castaways. A choice that I am certain Taj would have chosen without hesitation- sacrificing love to spread more love. Thankfully, Taj got to meet her husband on Exile Island (who can make fire quicker than anyone I have seen on Survivor). On the side note, Coach tells his brother that he is running the game…all I can say is that this is a bit delusional. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The wizard’s magic</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was in awe at the way Stephen tackled that immunity challenge- pure logic and brain power certainly goes a long way. Add to that the ability to remain cool under pressure and there’s no mathematical problem that you can’t conquer. Coach was right in continuously referring to Stephen as The Wizard (remember- “be the wizard Stephen, be the wizard”) because he is beyond exceptionally intelligent. This was shown during this challenge, and if you take a closer look at what is happening around camp- Stephen is the mastermind that is in control of this game. If he makes it to the finals and demands respect for being the brains behind the alliance of The Jalapoa Three with Erinn, he will win this game. If he and JT are in the finals together, it will be a classic case of “The Country Mouse and the City Mouse”, or “David and Goliath”.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fighting a losing battle</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Debbi is growing slightly annoyed with Coach not letting things go and she is gunning for him. She realizes that being with Coach may be holding her back. “I need to step up”…about time Debbi, but it’s too late. She wants to align with JT and Stephen, who are weary at how strategic Debbi has become, to take out Coach. The problem is that Debbi is likable enough by the jury to win the game and she has nothing to offer JT and Stephen that they don’t have. If Debbi played just as aggressively from the start, she would probably still be in this game. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her best move would have been to possibly try and create a rift amongst the Jalapoa’s by opening their eyes that their allies are threats to win this game. Also her plan of voting for Coach is narrow ended. Even if she did succeed in convincing them to vote out Coach, she would definitely be voted out next, unless she wins immunity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One week left until the grand finale that guarantees an action packed show down. Next week gives us some really great Coach moments that are not to be missed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">PS: After a long wait, American viewers finally get to see the much anticipated premier of Survivor Season 23: South Pacific this Wednesday. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And our favorite Coach returns for a third time with Ozzy…interesting matchup… I can’t wait to see how this turns out…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until next week….</span></div>
sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-79391660773696342812011-09-05T04:26:00.000-07:002011-09-05T04:42:45.417-07:00Survivor Tocantins Episode 11<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So we back for another awesome week of survivor. I’m still getting over the excitement of last weeks episode where Tyson was blindsided by Sierra the underdog. This season is so unpredictable and with the memorable Oscar level cast, this is one great season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last week we saw Sierra reach out to Coach and Debbi and she was brushed off and disregarded. Sierra warned them that they will regret their move- and look at them now. The lost their power and are at Sierras mercy. Sierra certainly has come along way from that bad first impression and being without an alliance when Brendon was voted off. Like her or not, surviving for so long where you are on the outside of your tribe from the get go is a big accomplishment- so hats off to Sierra </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Also it should be worth noting that the Jalapoa three, JT, Stephen and Taj, have also achieved something that we rarely see. The fact that they had no numbers merge time did not hold them down, and as Jeff Probst always advises- they looked for a crack in Timbira and chipped away. And look at them now- they have risen to full power. I believe that they realized that Erinn was on the bottom of the totem pole of the remaining six Timbiras. For Erinn, this gave her the opportunity to jump ship and move from being the sixth person in an alliance to a possible forth place or better. Like Jeff also says: “It takes a big move to win this game”, and Erinn certainly has made a big move. This is why survivor is so difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ignore the harsh elements; it’s the social game that proves most challenging. How do you keep an alliance with numbers, whilst ensure that no body in that alliance feels at the bottom? Would it be better to make empty promises for final two or three places to everyone and not keep them? Is it just better to have faith in the alliance and hope that everyone remains loyal? The tough thing is that you would have to control the way others perceive you. You can’t let them see you as a threat, as someone who may double cross, or someone who can masterfully work a jury and win. At the same time, you have to play the game for yourself to get to the end and prove why your gameplay is worthy of a million dollars. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The episode starts with JT and Stephen apologizing to Debbi and Coach for blindsiding Tyson. Coach sees that as honorable on their part and does not seem to hurt by this. Does Coach not see the writing on the wall and realize that the warrior alliance is over? Is his mission to acknowledge and appreciate the honor of the game blinding him from realizing that The Jalapoa Three is in power?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Debbi now plans on making some strategic moves. She realizes the power that JT, Stephen and Taj possess. But is it too late for her to do anything? She wants to regroup the remaining four Timbira…but it won’t be easy since the reason why the flipped was because they did not feel like part of Timbira.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Reward Challenge and the Out of Camp Reward…</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is quite a popular challenge that tests ones perception of their competition. It’s quite dangerous too as the way people “chop the ropes” of their competitors is an indication of any possible alliances and the boot order. Who can forget Survivor: Marquesas, where Kathy realized that they where in danger after this challenge, and convinced Vecepia, Sean, Paschal and Neleh to vote of The Rotu Four Alliance, turned the game around and ended up as the final six? Then again, in Micronesia, Parvati was identified as the person who “mistakenly thought she was in control of the game” and unconsciously, the remaining Dabu members did not realize that she needed to be voted off, and she spun her web to the finals and ultimately (and deservingly) won the million dollars. This challenge is supposed to turn on the light bells of the remaining players. According to Jeff Probst, this challenge will not be played again, as many players conspired about their possible answers after reading tree mail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s a few of my opinions on the questions and answers:</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Coach i</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">dentified himself as not living up to his potential. If his stories true, I agree. At the same time, maybe he is as perceptive enough to realize that others think he is phony and his self created personality is some masterminded plot to win this game. (“Take me to the end. Everyone thinks I’m a fake. I can’t win”…is this the strategy he is playing?</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everyone says that they will trust JT with their life. A bit strange, considering that he voted off Brendon and Tyson. Seriously…I think that the most trustworthy is Sierra. Think about it- she betrayed no one. A bit inappropriate that everyone thinks that Sierra is most likely to stab you in the back. Seriously, Sierra may be the underdog, but she has played an extremely honest game and it has gotten her far. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The chopping order is Sierra, Coach, Debbi, Erinn, Jt, Taj and Stephen wins…don’t the old Timbiras realize that they are possibly the next four to go home and that if they unite, their four can overpower the Jalapoa. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erinn is sent to Exile Island alone by Stephen. The strategy behind this is to keep their alliance of four in the grapevine about possible clues to a new idol. The Weather is not good and Erinn has a tough time at Exile Island and since she did not receive a new clue, her exile was pointless. Could this tick Erinn off and infuriate her so much to turn against the Jalapoa Three? Erinn wears glasses…could she have used the lenses to magnify light and start a fire?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jt is on a reward challenge yet again. This certainly must be fueling him up and helps him endure the highlands better. A moment that I enjoyed was Taj’s interaction with the little girl that put her into “mummy mode”. As I mentioned in a previous post, Taj’s strategy and social game reminds me of Cirrie Fields (Exile Island, Fans vs. Favorites, and Heroes vs. Villains). Cirrie also had a similar interaction with a child on her reward during Survivor: Panama Exile Island. Also, if I may compare them further, Cirrie was voted off by Amanda in Micronesia because, as a mother and a lovable social player, Cirrie would win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taj’s’ loving and fun- to- be- around personality may sadly be her Achilles Heel if someone realizes how big of a threat she would be for Jury votes.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When the cats away, the mice do play…</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Debbi and Coach’s eyes have opened. After the Jalapoa Three went on the reward together, they realized that they are no longer in control. They now want to pull in Sierra and Erinn into voting with them. Too bad for them- Sierra has been hurt by them already and will not trust them again. However, something that struck me as a “what if” scenario, is that Sierra should probably have joined forces with them. They are at her mercy and would possibly do anything to stay in this game- Sierra would be bestowed upon her the sacred powers of The Dragon Slayer (lol). Also, Sierra was the first to be chopped off at the reward challenge. This should have also been a red light for her. But in Sierra defense, she trusted Coach and Debbi once and they betrayed her and she would be a fool to trust them again and be betrayed once more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Is Coach playing with the integrity that he professes to have?</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Absolutely not. I have a lot of respect for Coach and his supposedly honorable game play and voting strategy. However, he lying about Sierra to throw her under the bus made me a little disappointed. If anything, Coach should have been honest with JT and Stephen, because in order for there to the trust, there must be truth. Also, this could have tarnished Coach’s entire reputation and may bring everything he said (yes, I’m referring to his exploits with the Amazon Tribe) in question. As Stephen puts it: “He may just be one pathological liar”. I do feel a twinge of pity for Sierra. She knows that she has been honest throughout this game, and to be accused of lying by the liar who claims to always be honest must really hurt. Sierra was also willing to confront Coach, which is quite a noble thing to do, which I’m a little surprised that Coach was not impressed by this as a “sign of warriors courage”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>The Dragon Slayer earns immunity…</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well done to Coach for winning immunity. He is finally lived up his reputation and earned immunity. Debbi and Jt come close to winning…and given their track record at challenges- I would seriously consider voting them off or they could go on an immunity run and skate to the finals. Would Coach say that the reason why he won this challenge was because he once had to make a lasso out of tree vines to reach a dagger to fight the Amazons? Also, I think that Coach has the discipline to remain cautious and calm, which helped him in this challenge. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Coach didn’t win immunity, he could have been the next to go home as he jokingly says.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The mother and Daughter fight…</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The argument between Debbi and Sierra looked liked a mother disciplining her rebellious child. “When did you become this angry person. You are not the person I know”, Debbi tells her. Sierra retaliates by throwing her words back at her and saying: “You are not the person I know anymore”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks like Debbi tries to get out of the argument by saying that she is too old for this. With all due respects, Debbi is quite young at heart and her exceptional performance at challenges reflects this. I think that the problem is desperation. Both Sierra and Debbi know that either one of them are going home and are therefore on edge with each other. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At Tribal council…</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj admits that she loves the drama. And yes, drama amongst others is one good way of keeping the attention of you. Taj and the other two Jalapoa’s, are actually quite skilled at watching the Timbira disintegrate by their own dysfunctions, which is why they are still in this game. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A random vote goes to Stephen. It looks. Like he had a slight heart attack and this vote puzzled me. So I did some digging and asked the voter Erinn Lobdell on twitter (follow her- @emarielo) about why she cast this vote, and she revealed to me that it was a throw away vote. She knew that Stephen was safe and discussed this with him before it happened (off camera). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possibly, Erinn, being born into Timbira, did not want to choose between her original two fellow tribe mates. This could also be a good move on her part, as she is not responsible for sending someone home and that person may feel more inclined to give Erinn a million dollar vote at the end. This is quite a great strategy, by keeping with the majority, but not being responsible for ending someone’s dream. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Debbi receives two votes. One from Sierra and the other from Taj. I think the consensus was that Sierra was going home, and Taj’s vote did not matter. Also, I’m sure that Taj and Sierra had a friendship, not counting the Exile Alliance, which developed when they were exile together. I don’t think Taj wanted to betray this friendship. Another theory is possibly in the case of Sierra pulling out a Hidden Immunity Idol; Debbi would then have the next highest votes and be sent home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sadly, Sierra is sent home. But as I mentioned, she came a long way in this game and at least she goes home knowing that she did not succumb to scrambling and lies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next week…we see a deeper and emotional side of Taj that will bring a warm smile to many viewers. It’s not a moment that can be missed. Also, Debbi tries to shake things up by turning on Coach…how will this this turn out? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until next week….<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-7383706596537142982011-08-29T10:52:00.001-07:002011-08-29T10:52:58.171-07:00Survivor Tocantins episode 10<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last week…the war between Coach and Brendon escalated to its highest peak, and the Jalapoa three were recruited by both conflicting alliances. They decided to side with Coach, and Brendon, under a false sense of security, did not play his idol and was blindsided. Sierra, the only person who remained loyal to Brendon, is no in hot water.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This week…prepare for another blindside…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On day one, Sierra had aligned with Brendon and remained loyal to him thus far. Amidst the scrambling and treachery, she remained true to her ally, and now she is trapped in a tunnel with not much hope of escaping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In normal senses, unwavering loyalty is desired…but this is not the case in Survivor. In the beginning, Sierra was on the outs of her Tribe and she has now found herself in the same situation. Will she be able to save herself?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach is meditating in the water and celebrates his victory with a battle cry. A bit too over-confidant?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tyson has a talk with Sierra and tells her that she is next to go. He also, in simple terms, tells her that he thinks he is a better competitor than her. He comes across, like coach, as a tad bit over confidant. Wouldn’t it make great TV if Sierra somehow manages to beat Tyson, the challenge dominator, and orchestrate his blindside?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the reward challenge, a team of Erinn, JT, Debbi and Tyson win the opportunity to mix with a local tribe e and enjoy a feast, and Stephen the Wizard walks a lonely road to Exile Island yet again. There is hope that a new clue and idol is hidden and Stephen can find it, but this is not the case. Debbi enjoys being around the children on the reward as it reminds her of the children she guides under her role as a Headmistress. But Debbi, as we see, is not the old fashioned, stuck up Principal. She is lively and participates in the martial arts dance and even does backflips. Can your Principal do that?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sierra warns Debbi that later down the road she will regret the alliances she has put herself into. To make things plain, she tells Debbi that she will be betrayed by her alliance in the same way that Brendon was blindsided. Erinn proves to be much more strategic than we have seen thus far. She creates a façade of being on the opposition of Sierra, and confesses that Sierra is right. She wants to vote Sierra out next, as she views Sierra as a hurdle in her path to make a move and change the game around. As I pointed out last week, Erinn is positioning herself to be the swing vote and subsequently control the way the vote goes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sierra now talks with Coach. She seems to be feeding him with what she knows he wants to hear by saying that she has not lived to her potential. He tells her that he wants to give her a second chance, but he won’t. He gives his normal talk clichéd talk about the Samurai and how she must lay in her own bed. I kind of view his interaction with her a tough love. But he is also revealed to have a caring side when he talks about how he wants to give her chance to the camera. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: center 3.25in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We get to see a bit of a shock at the immunity challenge where the Survivors get to chose between a shot at immunity via Shuffle Board, or they could enjoy pizza. This is survivor and normal human needs aren’t exactly the same- what is more important – food or safety? Stephen just got back from Exile Island so it’s no surprise that he chooses pizza over the challenge. But Coach’s choice to eat pizza and not partake in a battle astounds me. Coach, the legendary samurai, the dragon slayer gave up immunity so easily. Wouldn’t it be entertaining if he gets blindsided as a result of forgoing this immunity challenge?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 159.05pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a close game of Shuffle Board and it looks like Tyson is closest to the X and will win his third consecutive immunity. But here comes Sierra and with a swift slide of her puck, knocks Tyson out and is now in the lead. Revenge is certainly sweet for her, as she was able to knock off the arrogant person who thought he was better than her- talk about will power. Coach is in a slight panic now. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Sierras victory dance is short lived as Headmistress Debbie knocks off Sierra and wins immunity. In my opinion, Debbi is a tough challenge contender as she does exceptionally well at immunity challenges and has so far been on both rewards. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 159.05pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tyson hopes that Sierra will cry a lot. Yes there is a good chance of her crying- and it may just be tears of joy after a beautiful blindside. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 159.05pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erinn knows that she cannot win the game by letting others make big moves. She recognizes Tyson as a threat in challenges. Now she contemplates voting off Tyson over Sierra. The Jalapoa Three also conspire to eliminate Tyson. It’s fascinating that the Jalapoa three, who could easily have been broken up by know, are still together and are in power, despite being on the bottom of the totem pole at the start of the merge. If you take a look at the long History of Survivor, particularly the first season- Borneo, we are accustomed to seeing two tribes at each others heads after the merge, and the tribe with numbers pick the other tribe members out one-by-one. This season is one of the best for the simple reason of the unpredictability and mixing of the two tribes. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 159.05pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does Coach sense danger? He gives JT a talk about them being part of the “Warrior Alliance” and how stupid it would be if the Warriors turn on each other. JT reassures Coach they are strong, but plans on going against the alliance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 159.05pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At Tribal, Tyson once again comes across as over confidant and makes it clear that his vote is going towards Sierra. He isn’t even concerned that he butting heads with Sierra could cost him in this game. Alarm bells should be ringing in Tysons head- but his problem- his ego. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 159.05pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach has professed on countless times that he wants to take the best to the end. He wants to battle people at the end in an honorable manner. But isn’t that conflicting with why he voted off Brendon? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will “cut them off at the knees with no remorse and no regret”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coach wants to play this game with honor and truthfully, which is a bit risky, as less moralistic players can easily take him for a fool and walk over him. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: center 3.25in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So prepare of the best blindside- Sierra, Tyson, Sierra, Sierra, Tyson, Tyson (look of shock), Tyson and the ninth person voted out is TYSON…BLINDSIDED!!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: center 3.25in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So who was more surprised- Tyson, Coach or Sierra? It must be great to blindside someone whose ego blinds them so much that they think they are invincible.( ***Spoiler Alert***Tyson will be blindsided again in the future…and the way he is blindsided is so much more awesome) . </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: center 3.25in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next weeks episode should be called “Irony”. After out casting Sierra, Coach and Debbi now find themselves at her mercy as they struggle to survive in this game. One thing is for sure…it’s very unlikely that Sierra will help them. Remember that she wanted Debbi she will regret her move one day? Well it looks like this day of reckoning came sooner than expected. It proves that age old saying that one should also be kind to others because “what goes around, comes around”. A little bit more support for Sierra…Tyson once said that she is in this game to give stupid people hope – well she certainly gives people hope that they can over come a bad first impression and that they can accomplish anything if they try- people will be stupid if they don’t learn from this. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you could see, this episode focused a lot on Sierra. Are the editors painting an impression about her path to win this game?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: center 3.25in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until next week…</span></div>sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-29753371556183028662011-08-22T10:49:00.001-07:002011-08-22T13:03:18.057-07:00Survivor Tocantins Episode 9Well, as you can see, the original vintage world map theme is back on my blog, due to suggestons. Yup it's true, it does suit Survivor more. <br />
The claws come out this week as the long war between The Dragon Slayer and self made multi millionaire Brendon comes to an end. But who was victorious…<br />
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Last week, we have seen the Exile Alliance start to crumble amidst the scrambling going on at Forza. Stephan and Taj have found themselves in conflicting alliances between the two war generals- Coach and Brendon. Will they remain loyal to their charismatic ally Brendon, or will they succumb to the polarizing influence of his nemesis, Coach?<br />
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Coach once again entertains his tribe mates about his rendezvous with an Amazon tribe- how he was captured and restrained by arrow and club wielding natives and how he escaped. Is he for real? Brendon does not seem to agree and refers to Coach as “the biggest fraud in the game”.<br />
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We see a different side of Erinn as she confides in JT that she is upset that her closest ally, Joe, has been removed from the game. If Erinn plays her cards right, she could stay out of the crossfire and position herself as the swing vote, become the invisible woman, and slide into the finals undetected. <br />
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Stephan becomes the first person to make a solo trip to Exile Island. In the recap episode, we have seen him struggle through making fire, where even the model, Sydney, could accomplish this. However, Stephan has become more adapted to the outdoors, and has succeeded in making fire. <br />
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JT, Brendon and Debbi find themselves on a river rafting trip reward. This not only offers a comfortable place to relax, but as any survivor player knows – it’s a chance to get some time away from camp and strategize with the others on the reward. Brendon is becoming smitten with JT’s country charm and wants to go to the finals with him, knowing that JT would easily win. He is so in awe of JT that he he stays up all night by evaluating various ways to of getting himself and JT to the finals, so JT would win- but he does make a good point that any plan of his that works out is a victory to him. Sierra is also allured by JT who she thinks is awesome .Right now, it looks like JT may have enough charm as the front runner of the social game, Parvati Shallow (Cook Islands, Micronesia, and Heroes vs. Villains) and if he is sitting in front of the jury at the end, he could convince them to vote for him, and the million dollars will be as good as his. .Sierra is also allured by JT who she thinks is awesome. If I was playing survivor, JT will be next on my boot list because socialists can be more fatal that cold blooded strategists, and they can easily accomplish the same as the latter, but with a smile. <br />
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Taj has put in a lot of effort to put herself in a safe position after the merge. And her efforts seem to have paid off because whilst the old Timbiras are butting heads with each other and plotting to take each other out, she is comfortable by staying out of hot water. <br />
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At the immunity challenge, we see Tyson dominate yet again and win his second consecutive immunity. How long can his reign last? ***Spoiler Alert!!!*** In a future survivor season, Tyson will once again compete in the same challenge. He will come up just short, and his vulnerability at that night’s tribal council will cause him to do something that will raise a few eyebrows and will consequently change the course of the entire game. Just wait and see :)<br />
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Brendon decides to try and throw hisold tribe mates of his trail by suggesting that they vote off JT. But does he know that Jt and the old Timbiras(Less Erinn and Sierra) are plotting against him?<br />
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At tribal, Coach’s stories about his Tales in the Amazon are brought up and ridiculed a bit, even by Jeff Probst. Be warned readers and survivor fans, we have not heard the last of Coach’s Tales.What impresses me most about Coach is that e does not let the quirps of others affect him and always tries to maintain a high degree of honesty and integrity, even in this brutal game.<br />
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Stephan does a good job at deflecting the plan to take out Brendon by shift some light onto JT by saying that he is the biggest threat. The art of blindsiding is something that every survivor needs to study…Something that i thought made me laugh a lot thos episode was Coach constantly refering to Stephan as a wizard. Is it because he wear glasses like Harry Potter? What made me burst out laughing even more was Stephans witty one liner when he cast his vote- something abbout using a magic spell or lighting right back at you. Well, Iguess when you spend so much time with Coach, you start to use his phrases as retaliation. But i think it's cool being known as the wizard. <br />
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Brendon declares that he possesses the Hidden Immunity Idol. In my opinion, I think he did to try and scare anyone who may be targeting him into changing their votes. This reminds me a little of Bob Crowley’s (Gabon) strategy, which I want to tweak a bit that one does not know that the other will be pulling the trigger, all they have to do is see the gun holder. Brendon is basically trying to threaten his foes that he has the idol, he will play it and he will be safe, but as it turns out, this is just an empty threat. <br />
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Three votes are dumped onto a shocked Sierra from JT, Tyson and Erinn. Coach receives two votes from Brendon and Sierra, and ultimately Taj and Stephan betray Brendon by throwing their votes onto him, and add to that Coach and Debbi’s vote onto Brendon…and just like that Brendon’s torch is snuffed.<br />
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Well its no brainer that the votes were split between Sierra and Brendon, as a safeguard in the instance of Brendon playing the idol. Be wary that splitting the vote is the best way to neutralise the power of the idol (that's if everyone goes along with the plan- lol a hint for about Tysons blunder in a future season)<br />
Well Brendon is not the first person to be blindsided with the Idol. James Clement was blindsided with two idols. He certainly won't be the last person that we will see being blindsided in this way..<br />
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I am a bit disappointed at how the vote went. I was hoping that the Exile Alliance of Brendon, Taj, Stephan and Sierra and JT and Erin would make it all the way to the end. Brendon is now the first member of the jury and it’s safe to say that he won’t be voting for either Taj or Stephan due to their betrayal. <br />
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Sierra is now on the outside once again. Will she be the next person to whose flame will be put out or will she be able to turn her game around and save herself?<br />
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Something on the side- Coach calls himself The Dragon Slayer, but what do you call someone who slays The Dragon Slayer? Ha ha, if you saw my facebook wallpost the other day, you would probably have guessed- even though it obviously did not relate to this season. <br />
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Until next week...<br />
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sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-72880412302860408872011-08-15T10:58:00.000-07:002011-08-15T10:58:41.229-07:00Survivor Tocantins episode 8<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Its merge time on survivor and this new development will really shake up the game. Over the last 19 days, we have seen six people being voted out the game for either being a liability of the tribe or because they brought about an air of negativity. Now that the game is reaching the finish line, how will the voting strategies shift? Will the blooming Exile Alliance finally emerge and take control of the game, or will the desire for self preservation crack this alliance? How will the battle between Coach and Brendon end or will there be just no end to their rivalry? And how will new strategies, alliances and betrays turn the game around?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>10 are left- who will outwit, outplay and outlast all others and become the sole survivor? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jalapoa is down to four members against the 6 people at Timbira. In this game, numbers is everything. Will Jalapoa disintegrate, get someone to jump over from Timbira, or will they be picked off one by one? As Stephan and Jt both feel, their best hope is to find some sort of power struggle in Timbira and exploit it…a power struggle that they will soon call Coach vs. Brendon.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best move for the Jalapoa 4 is to take a lesson of Sandra Diaz Twine's(Winner Survivor: Pearl Islands) mantra of <em><strong>"for as long as it's not me"</strong></em> strategy and vote with the majority.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-Gg_BW0qPG5cCTWVfkYodnkVrxrIRTYSm3ViSlovWxq9D3Drhmjt7t5wD1KxIS7wrClwsDmyC-lP4QV4IcTAjCjbacNOpgIUD_bMNOy8vc9AR3xHHRi8qs3bw5pMvjJwSM57W5WWo8Jo/s1600/coach.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-Gg_BW0qPG5cCTWVfkYodnkVrxrIRTYSm3ViSlovWxq9D3Drhmjt7t5wD1KxIS7wrClwsDmyC-lP4QV4IcTAjCjbacNOpgIUD_bMNOy8vc9AR3xHHRi8qs3bw5pMvjJwSM57W5WWo8Jo/s320/coach.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In anticipation of the merge, Coach has evolved to become friendlier and likable tribes mate, with the motive of keeping Timbira happy so that they don’t break apart after the merge. Yet, he still continues to enlighten others with fictional tales about his adventures- this time about how he started the Art of Samurai! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach reinforces that his desire is to take the strongest to the end. He sees Jt as a kindred spirit and Stephan as intelligent, and wants to include them in his Warrior Alliance with Debbie and Tyson. Is this a good move on Coach’s part? Is his ulterior motive to be rewarded for taking deserving people to the end and playing and honorable game? What would happen if the people on Coach’s alliance as just stronger than him and he can’t beat them? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach also feels that Brendon is too deceptive and believes that Brendon is lying to him says: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“If you flat out lie to me, you better go to war”</i></b>. Does Coach have enough minions to finally take out his long time rival?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tyson, who also wants to take out Brendon, is proud of believing that he is outwitting Brendon. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“He is like putty in my hands right now- I can mold this game however I want right now”</i></b>, Tyson muses as he shares his undercover puppet master strategy with the camera. He also feels that Stephan and JT have replaced Brendon and Sierra in the alliance. And with a remorseless and arrogant tongue he says<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I have no clue why she is out here, to give stupid people hope around the world”</i></b>, when sharing his opinion of Sierra. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erinn and Joe strategize together. They decide to work together to find out the whereabouts of the Hidden Immunity Idols. To no surprise, they establish the both Idols are missing. Will Joe share the idol be found with Erinn, and does he know it is a fake? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This immunity challenge is one of my favorites. We have seen it before in Survivor: Vanuatu Survivor:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cook Islands, and a variation in Survivor: Palau</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During the challenge, Jt tells Joe to hang on because either he or Joe will be going home tonight. Does JT really believe this? If he does, this is a potentially fatal move if it alerts the other tribe mates that JT and Joe are perceived as the bigger threats ho need to be eliminated next.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach is happy that Brendon dropped out of the challenge, and Tyson and Debbie are the last two standing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this a good idea for Debbie to be challenging Tyson? By giving too much effort in immunity challenge could indicate that you need Immunity because you feel vulnerable or that you are a serious threat to win future challenges. Debbie could have just drawn too much attention to herself, especially since she had a stable alliance. She gets distracted and Tyson wins immunity.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gWnBx86xJ3FxkAB9w3wEaMpXqEbSopgHnAZzaqMn4L1Aoxg7UR5GUMq08prfisaNwR-KJrh8Sxsl5qJiKG0PZECez6OWKv2DEQcDsRUXWDcP3iX-8ci6M9zdhWTgcemKyh8ND1tGyIQq/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gWnBx86xJ3FxkAB9w3wEaMpXqEbSopgHnAZzaqMn4L1Aoxg7UR5GUMq08prfisaNwR-KJrh8Sxsl5qJiKG0PZECez6OWKv2DEQcDsRUXWDcP3iX-8ci6M9zdhWTgcemKyh8ND1tGyIQq/s320/untitled.bmp" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephan has put himself in a really tight spot between the Exile Alliance and Warrior Alliance. He appears to be unsure as to which route to take. He tells JT that he would go along with the Warrior Alliance if a JT turn on them at a later stage .He considers making a move to vote out Brendon and shares this idea with Taj, who agrees to go along with the plan if they have numbers. Stephan bounces of the idea of splitting the votes between Sierra and Brendon, in the case of Brendon playing the Idol, so that Sierra would be voted off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have seen the Exile Alliance strengthening for the last twenty days. Is it going to crumble so quickly? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We get another under the radar appearance from Tyson who interrupts JT and Stephan’s chat and says: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We doing the beans right now. We stir it a bit, add a little rice to it and in split it up, and in a couple of hours we put Brendon’s name down”</i></b>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shows how casual, yet effective Tysons gameplay is, and couple this with his might in challenges, and Tyson is looking like the biggest threat to win the game right now. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During some camera time, Brendon discusses why he is not making any indications concerning the Exile Alliance with Taj and Stephan. He wants the alliance to lie low for a while, after Coach and Tyson are voted out, so they can feel the full power of the alliance. Is Brendon taking too long to strike? There is scrambling going all around him and although he senses that he is in danger, he feels at ease because he has possession of the idol. Does Brendon lack the killer instinct of knowing when to take out his prey, and will this be his Achilles Heel?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Medic takes a look at Joe. Coach’s excitement of taking out his long time rival is heightening and his ego is inflating to the extent that he decides to call himself <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Dragon Slayer”</i></b>….a name that we better get used to for the rest of this season, another season and possibly one more. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jeff makes a visit to camp with bad news (or good news for Brendon) that Joe has been medivaced from the game. His infection n is too close to the bone, and could enter the bone or go to the blood and risk death. This just shows that this game is aptly named, as one does not only have to win the battle against other competitors for the ultimate prize, but also that they have to endure harsh environments, bugs and parasites and keeping their sanity.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHmLvo-uxiTzMc9A_n_-sh6g8NOqnsEPL6CJkwgrBw28lzRQ3ZiPxQJhctm8qaIXMXyvUz8Vu7-cez_bc8HI3ENKgWxjzPX8J1rRqQjlpT9jP13q_PTUVPtafskNOQ_MdybU0IAcgtgSX/s1600/survivor_tocantins_cbs_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHmLvo-uxiTzMc9A_n_-sh6g8NOqnsEPL6CJkwgrBw28lzRQ3ZiPxQJhctm8qaIXMXyvUz8Vu7-cez_bc8HI3ENKgWxjzPX8J1rRqQjlpT9jP13q_PTUVPtafskNOQ_MdybU0IAcgtgSX/s320/survivor_tocantins_cbs_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So once again, the battle between The Dragon Slayer and Brendon has been postponed. Will Brendon catch wind of what is going on and will he able to regroup the Exile Alliance and take out his enemy? Be sure to tune into Survivor next week…because only one person will be victorious…..</span></div>sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-20185733829539723372011-08-08T11:09:00.000-07:002011-08-08T11:09:04.050-07:00Survivor Tocantins episode 7<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sydney and Joe talk strategy. She admits that she feels as though her head is on the chopping block. Joe, smitten by her looks, reassures her that she is safe. But remember that Joe is only one vote….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 175.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach continues to tick Sierra off while they are cooking. Careful Coach…the merge is coming and you need to be kind from people if you want loyalty…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 175.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Brendon says that Coach is too predictable. Is this really the case, or is Brendon under a false pretense?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephan wants to be the bridge between Taj and JT. He is putting himself in a secure place by doing this, because if he gains separate and strong loyalty from each of them, this strengthens the likelihood of him being in the finals- both if he wins the final immunity, or JT or Taj win and decide to take him to the final two.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once again, the outcome of the reward challenge was close...but Timbira emerged victorious</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joe is selected to go to Exile Island and he chooses Erinn fro m Timbira to accompany him. Remember Jalapoa is losing numbers and Erinn confessed last week that she would be wiling to flip. If Joe is successful in charming Erinn…this could be a win-win situation for both Erinn and Jalapoa…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the reward, Coach admits that Erinn is lucky to still be in this game, and he goes on to say that he is happy with everyone there on the reward because he wants to win with them. Am I missing something? Wasn’t Coach locking horns with Brendon and creating friction with Sierra? Well if this is the case, Brendon, Sierra and Erinn have a common enemy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephan and Taj make a fake idol…will they be able to pull the wool over Joes eyes?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">JT sees the idol in a bag and tells Stephan, who admits that he knew about the idol. Stephan also convinces Taj to show Jt the idol, and thus strengthens their alliance. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jt versus Tyson again...and Tyson takes the lead and wins immunity for Timbira. Tyson then rubs in his victory when he asks Jt if he needs help.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joe lies that he didn’t see the clue at Exile Island, which Taj and Stephan don’t believe, as they laugh while Joe secretly takes the idol…does he know it is fake?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sydney and Joe are targeting Taj, and Stephan and Jt consider blindsiding Taj and keeping her idol.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sydney acknowledges that Taj is not the person to scramble, which she seems to display as an honorable gameplay on Taj’s behalf. But will a gameplay of no scrambling and backstabbing be a fatal flaw in Taj’s game if it shows that doesn’t have the killer instinct to make big moves?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At tribal, players are making this decision in consideration with who will help them more useful in the looming merge, as they explore the pros and cons of keeping Taj or Sydney. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sydney proposes that she will be more loyal and since she has no relationships with Timbira, she can’t flip. At this point in the game, how important will this declaration of Sydney be, since Jalapoa is already down in numbers, and even if they keep a loyal Sydney, they could easily be picked out one by one? Taj on the other hand admits she has relationships with Sierra and Brendon, which could potentially save Jalapoa after the merge. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How bad did Joe want Sydney to stay?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He could have given Sydney the Idol</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maybe he knew the Idol was fake</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Did he believe that Sydney was safe?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Or, would he be planning to keep the Idol for himself or share it with someone else after the merge for his own benefit?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The vote reveals that Stephan and Jt decided to stay loyal to Taj, and Sydney was voted out</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Was this vote before the merge a good decision?</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It could have been the perfect time for Taj to be blindsided</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sydney could have used her flirting after the merge to forge connections with Brendon and Tyson</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jt, the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>powerhouse, could have been blindsided because he would be too much of a threat after the merge</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joe has a knee infection. This could cripple his performance in future challenges and if he gets medivaced in the future, its another player down for Jalapoa</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best move that Jalapoa should have made was to vote out Joe because his injured knee could be liability, and Sydney would do much better in post –merge endurance challenges and by reaching out too the outsiders of Timbira. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In her on camera goodbye, Sydney says that Taj might try to do something. This just shows how much power that Taj is perceived to have…power that could shake things up after the merge and give Jalapoa glory…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next week…merge time!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">***Spoiler Alert***</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach will form the “Warrior” or “Power” Alliance, and a few people from Jalapoa join this alliance. Who will constitute this alliance, and how will it impact the rest of the game? What does mean for the Exile Alliance?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until next week…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div>sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-18626896479459896192011-08-01T11:40:00.001-07:002011-08-01T11:40:58.627-07:00Survivor Tocantins episode 6<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This week gives us some insight on the first fifteen days of Survivor: Tocantins. We get to learn more about your favourite characters and the strategies that they use to give them a shot of the million dollars. This episode is the early turning point of the game, and will set the stage for showdowns in future episodes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The theme of first impressions is picked on once again. Are the editors trying to make a point of showing that not all first impressions are lasting, or on the flip side, that making a good first impression goes a long way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this theme going to dictate the end game?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tyson is most likely trying to hide his game play by being the goofy kid of the camp, like Rob Cesternino (Amazon and All Stars). But Debbie shows how perceptive she is when she says that he is someone that she will watch out for because he is a threat to win the game. But is Tyson capable of making big moves? Could his ego lead to him being blindsided?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sydney is shown to work hard around camp and she can easily make fire. If she survives past merge, she could be a tough contender to beat in a fire making challenge or tie breaker. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She believes that Jt has the power…if she wants to gain control of the camp, she should consider eliminating JT. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach really tries to lead his tribe and entertains them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He displays his orchestra skills to his tribe which doesn’t seem to mesh well with Erinn. She doesn’t like her tribe very much and it seems like she is planning on jumping ship. Coach’s “parenting” could slowly be chipping at Sierra and it could make her crack soon. “It’s only going to make me turn on them faster”, she says….well it looks like Sierra and Erinn are going to flip and form an alliance with Jalapoa members after the merge. They would easily turn on Coach. Will Coach’s alliance with Tyson be enough protection?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach went to the amazon once and a snake was wrapped around his neck. Really? Do people actually believe this?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Debbi says that this place is infested with snakes…this could be more metaphorical than literal. We have yet to see any devious and manipulative players emerge…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Brendon and Coach compete in making bench swings, which is symbolic of the greater battle for dominance between the two of them. Brendon is a very charismatic leader and knows that good interactions with people are important. In a match up between Brendon and Coach for the title of Sole Survivor, Brendon will win.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The wear and tear and bug bites on Taj are taking a toll on her. Let’s hope that she has enough will power to not quit because she would be a sorely missed. She is calmed down by Stephan, which does show that he has good social skills that could work in his favour. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joe doesn’t seem to want the spot light to be on him. Is he making the right choice by playing under JT’s shadow?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephan’s strategic moves and logic show that he is a player worthy of a million dollars. He knows that he isn’t as athletic as he would like to be, so he aligns with a physically fit Jt. Also, he has a back up, the exile alliance; because he admits that there is a chance that JT may not be all that trustworthy after the merge. We could easily see Stephan in the finals with this strategy. But could he win?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Is Brendon putting too much faith in the exile alliance? An alliance is only strong if people remain loyal to it. Will greener pastures tempt someone to abandon this alliance?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well to sum up this episode, it looks like JT is the centre of control of Jalapoa. How long will he be able to stay in this position?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coach is polarizing in Timbira, but is this going to work against him? And will the Exile Alliance take control?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">11 are left, who will be voted out next?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until next week…</span></div>sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-27623549300742521512011-07-25T10:22:00.001-07:002011-07-25T10:22:59.284-07:00Survivor Tocantins episode 5<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hi readers</span></div><div style="border-bottom: windowtext 1.5pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding-bottom: 1pt; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Firstly, thanks for the glowing comments and recommendations about my blog. I have more readers than ever, and it’s thanks to you. This week’s blog is going to be a little shorter as I am because at University, so my blog takes backseat to studying…</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Exile Alliance</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj and Stephan find the idol. It’s interesting that Taj gives the idol to Stephan to keep. Besides his moral obligations, he is not bound to give the idol back to her…it would be interesting if he uses it against her. They make a fake idol…is anyone stupid enough to fall for this again like Jamie, Erik and Phei Gee(China), Eliza and Jason (Micronesia) and Randy (Gabon) ?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Something that I noticed, irrelevant though, was that a lot of Brendon’s exile island confessions were edited and added to his strategy chat with Sierra at camp as a background thought of his…this just shows that there is not much to do at Exile Island besides talk.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 303.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Brendon made a potentially fatal move by saving Taj from joining him at Exile, and selecting Stephen instead. This could possibly alert his tribe about the likely cross tribal alliance that he is forming...as Tyson picks up, proving his intellect. Erinn seems to be fooled by Brendon’s choice. This further strengthens the battle line between Coach and Brendon.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reward Challenge</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The reward challenge was also seen as a variation in the latest season of Survivor South Africa. In think that JT, Sydney and Spencer did a good job on the balance beams.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 303.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reward challenge was good and the letters from home was the cherry on top.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">***Spoiler...future seasons will feature clues to the hidden immunity idol hidden amongst the reward items. We will get to see some catfights and brawls for these clues…not to be missed</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Is Coach a fake? …Erinn seems to think so…how many people actually believe that he was once captured and held prisoner by an Amazon tribe? Well I will give Coach credit for his stories being very entertaining. But does he realize that he is being ridiculed or does he think that his tribe is in awe of him?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The fight for immunity</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">JT loses a tooth during the brutal immunity challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shows how tough he is. He should keep his tooth and put it under his pillow…maybe the tooth fairy will give him a million dollar reward…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another injury during this challenge was Joe hurting his knee. We have seen tough contenders like James and Penner (Micronesia) be medivaced due to open cut infections. Let’s hope that Joe is ok…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I still foresee the future challenge rivalry between JT and Tyson getting stronger. It looks like, I a perfect merge situation, with equal numbers on both sides, JT and Tyson will be early targets…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tyson nearly single handedly wins immunity for Timbira, and Spencer is in hot water for not performing well in the challenge.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Aftermath and Tribal Council</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stephen reveals that he is much more strategic than he looks. He admits to the camera that he can’t put all his faith in his exile alliance. Later, he considers voting out Taj to keep the idol for himself .Clearly he is not putting all his eggs in one basket, but will this make him seem to wishy washy and be a thorn in his side when pleading his case for the million dollars?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj has an outburst back at camp. This could ruffle a few feathers and put her in the hot seat. But one needs to consider the harsh environment that the survivors are subject to, and emotional outbreaks would.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jalapoa has grown into a very tight group of six, and it is a very tough decision as to who to sacrifice for the good of the tribe…Stephan and Jt are close, Joe and Sydney have the flirt tactics going on, and it is likely that Taj and Spencer on the outside. Will Stephen decide to keep Taj around, blindside her, or return her idol for her to save herself?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joe calls Taj out for possibly having the idol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her response shows why she is a good player. She is not lying to Joe when she says that she does not have it in her possession, yet she is keeping mum about finding the idol. Playing close to the line, but not crossing it can get you far…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many people will be surprised by me saying this, but Joe should be targeted due to his injury. Jalapoa would need to consider whether Joe will be able to compete in future challenges. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The advantage of keeping spencer would be that he knows he messed up at the challenge, and he would work much hard to do his best next time. Also, this could have been a perfect chance to take out Taj. Spencer knows he is trouble and it’s no surprise that he is voted out. It’s sad to be such a competitor and fan and to have it taken away so quickly, but for a nineteen year old, he did great. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: windowtext 1.5pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding-bottom: 1pt; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-top: 0in; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next week’s episode gives us a refresher of the first 15 days at Tocantins. It’s unlikely that I may blog on this episode. So until I blog again…</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A word of thanks once again to all my loyal readers. I’m a little surprised that many readers are from UK. Could someone from the UK please tell me what season is being shown there? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 145.5pt;"><br />
</div>sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-27407407956556947022011-07-18T09:51:00.001-07:002011-07-22T12:52:19.225-07:00Survivor Tocantins episode 4<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Week 4</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last week we saw the foundation of the secret exile alliance hardening…and one of its members (Brendon) found their ammunition at his camp…and the rivalry between coach and Brendon emerged.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m going to try something different with my blog this week and just mention key character points in this episode and not give a chronological scene by scene comment. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Reward Challenge</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was impressed with the strength displayed by the survivors during this heavy challenge, particularly the women- Taj and Debbi. They were the last two standing on their respective tribes and their will power and endurance is impressive. Keep in mind that, traditionally, endurance challenges that test the will to be in this game are popular post-merge challenges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also Jt met Rupert (Pearl Islands/All Stars Pirate) record...it would be interesting to see them match up in the future…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why think Taj is one of the best players here…</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj has displayed her powers as a strategist by forming the secret exile alliance. Today, we also saw the challenge beast within her as she was the last castaway standing during the reward challenge. We also saw her slip a vote towards Joe, hence staying with the numbers, but not voting with the majority. If she makes it to the finals and continues this voting strategy, no one on the jury will bear a grudge against her and the million dollar cheque will already have her name on. She is also realistic and not afraid to speak her mind and display her confidence of her skill at this game when she says that she is okay with Sydney’s using flirting to get further in the game, because she “will make her way through the game regardless”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>. But what I liked most above Taj is her team spirit and good sportsmanship as was displayed when she cheered on her tribe mates during the immunity challenge and hugged her opponent, Debbi, after the reward challenge. However what is worrying me about Taj is that she figured out where the Hidden Immunity Idol is last week, but has not taken it yet. What if someone else finds it by chance? Are the producers trying to paint a picture as to hoe Taj wins….or how she ends up getting voted out?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tyson continues to be witty yet strategic…</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“I wasn’t paying attention, I don’t really care” was Tysons confession about the leadership feud between Coach and Brendon. It may seem like Tysons dreamy attitude is amusing, but I believe he is stepping away from being a leader and keeping the target of his back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, he thoroughly entertains his tribe, which could be helping them bond, and as a result, Timbira worked well together and claimed Immunity. Could Timbira realize what Tyson is up to?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jt makes smart decisions…</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By choosing not to raid all of Timbira’s food, Jt accomplished two things. Firstly, he kept his rivals happy. Post-merge, they may be more inclined to trust him and form an alliance with him. Secondly, he knew that If he took all of Timbira’s food and ended up on that tribe, Karma could come back to bite him. Also, he seems to be aware of Sydney’s flirting, but lets it be as he is not only enjoying it but also he could be letting her flirt with him to forge some sort of alliance. Is Jt too nice for his own good?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Is Stephan making the right choice…</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj asks Stephan if he would like to be part of “the biggest upset in Survivor history”, to which he immediately agrees. He already appears to have a solid friendship with JT and he is putting himself in an alliance that does not include Jt. Would he tell Jt about this or would Jt later find out about this and see it as a betrayal? Remember that there can only be one winner and one would have to consider what is more important…winning or friendship. What would Stephan do if his secret alliance wants to blindside his buddy Jt? Would he betray his alliance to save his friend, or would he risk a shot at the million dollars to save his friendship. Anyone with a true friendship would tell you that it is not an easy decision.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A trip down memory lane… “But if I would ever pass you along in life again and you were laying there, dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water….this island is pretty much only filled with two things- snakes and rats….let it be in the end the way mother nature intended it to be- to let the snake eat the rat”…this was Sue’s legendary and most poisonous jury comment to Kelly for breaking their friendship in Survivor Borneo.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could something of this nature happen between Stephen and JT if one breaks the friendship to get further in the game?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stephan’s best move would be to somehow integrate JT into the alliance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The building rivalry between Coach and Brendon…</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m glad that Timbira won immunity so that we can see this rivalry become even more heated and make way for an epic battle where only one can win. But Coach supposedly doesn’t want to vote out coach because he wants to keep the strongest to the end. What does Brendon want? Coach is a little delusional if he thinks that he looks stronger than Brendon and he says that he has “been here in the wild before and they haven’t”- really Coach, when? Brendon could have shot himself in the foot by not telling Sierra that she is part of the exile alliance. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sandy vs. Sydney</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sandy made me laugh throughout this episode, from when she said that the beans are farting beans... I thought I saw some bubbles while she was doing her confession in the small pond. It was also funny watching hearing her suggest what Sydney would need to do to be more flirtatious. But her look of shock when Sydney says “I have a flirtatious personality, I flirt with woman” was priceless. Sydney does work hard around camp, she flirts and is athletic so she was spared the vote. Goodbye Sandy and your humor will be missed. An interesting season of Survivor would be one that is structured around Old vs. Young based on Sandy and Sydney’s lighthearted rivalry.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Is Spencer experienced enough, in terms of age, to play survivor…</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hats off to Spencer for being the youngest contestant to play survivor. (a record that will be broken by Natalie Tenerelli a few seasons later). I remember that a few months ago, when I was also 19, I also wanted to (and still want to) be on Survivor. Spence is very lucky to have this opportunity, but is he sharp enough to know when he is being manipulated? Remember what happened to young Eric from Survivor Micronesia when he became a victim of the Black Widow Brigade? Spencer also spoke about trying to have more numbers from Jalapoa when going into a merge with Timbira. But what will happen if Jalapoa (or Timbira for that matter) has numbers,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but the tribes splinters apart when tribe mates jump ship and form cross tribal alliances(which is already happening)? Will loyalty to your original tribe be enough if other people in your tribe flip?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other unmentioned castaways….</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erin doesn’t click well with her tribe. Post-merge, she would be more willing to jump ship if she gets on with Timbira. What could save her is somehow fueling the tension between Coach and Brendon and then picking the right side to back between Coach and Brendon. If she does this, she can make it to the merge and go far in the game.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Debbi’s strength and free spirited behavior impresses me. She is definitely not the cold, stuck up, stereotypical Principal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her realization that they need to find things to bond over and keep them busy so that they don’t think about what they missing back home could put her in the right mindset to remain focused on this game. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I enjoyed Sierra’s confession about how she “started at the bottom and now she is at the top”. If her secret alliance survives until the merge, she will most certainly be at the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Revenge would be sweet for Sierra is she is able to take out the tribe members that ostracized her one day one.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joe is not seen making any visible strategic moves at this point, except his decision to not take all of Timbiras food during the raid. Is this good or bad? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His strategy may be to be likable and play and under the radar game. He also does well at challenges and he gets on well with his tribe. His strategy could get him very far in this game.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To sum up, it looks like every single character is a legitimate threat to win at this stage. The game can only get more thrilling from here.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until next week….</span></div>sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-19894761390847395592011-07-11T15:06:00.000-07:002011-07-11T15:06:10.610-07:00Survivor Tocantins episode 3<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time for week 3…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for the kind words via comments and inboxes on Facebook and Twitter. They make me want to blog even more </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This episode, as you will see, sets the stage for a huge showdown as can be seen with a secret exile alliance and an emerging fight for dominance…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It turns out that, irrespective that Erin voted against her ally Candace, she is fighting to stay in the game. It seems like Coach and Tyson wants her out. Will she be able to survive?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The reason why I love this season is that it reminds me of the first Survivor, Borneo, which is reflected by Jalapoa bonding while catching and eating fish. This is definitely strengthening their tribe and the cohesiveness will give them a huge advantage in challenges.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The reward challenge…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s a typical blind fold-teamwork challenge…Joe and Debbi are callers for their tribes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I liked Timbira’s strategy of forming a train was good, but they weren’t fast enough</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The corn…lol, I’m not sure if the corn was real, but if it was, I would have eaten some while it was falling from the bucket.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jalapoa is clearly a more cohesive tribe whilst there are some visible conflicts in Timbira, and this led Jalapoa to victory. They won comfort items and a tarp which will give them even more momentum for the next challenge. The tarp will keep them dry and will give them an edge at future challenges.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Winners find a way to win”…Coach’s attitude is good motivation to persevere and eventually come out victorious. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In my opinion, each and every person who plays survivor should know that typical pre-merge challenges involve blindfolds and team work. The tribemates should be practicing their team skills together back at camp to give them a leg up at challenges.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taj and Brendon are back at Exile Island and they have another clue to the locations of both Hidden Immunity Idols. They agree to form a four way secret alliance by including Stephen and Sierra. One of my favorite moments was Taj’s villainous laugh at night with lightening in the background- could she be the puppet master of this game? Right now, Taj looks like she is putting herself in a very strong position…remember Parvati’s million dollar reward after aligning with Amanda and Cirrie on her tribe and Alexis and Natalie on the other tribe? Taj reminds me of the famous Cirrie Fields, not because of race, but because she is playing a very strategic, under-the-radar game, she is well liked by her tribe to be kept around longer, and she is a mother and wife…yes, I predict that Taj will make it very far in this game and she will be a serious threat to win…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh, and remember that Stephen is very close to Jt, and if he agrees to be part of this four way secret alliance, he will also be sticking around for much longer…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I found Tyson and Coach’s engagement quite entertaining. Tyson looks like he is in awe if Coach and this is only fueling up Coach’s ego even more. Tyson knows what he is doing by wanting to be the “assistant coach”…it keeps him out of the firing line, yet he still has power…a good move. Could Tyson eventually grow tired of being second in command and take out his master?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Something on the side but irrelevant…Sandy calls herself a sex kitten in the morning- no comment…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The immunity challenge….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This challenge seems tough…those blocks look and sound heavy and they need to be stacked to form a staircase that must spell the tribe name. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jerri struggled during this challenge, and as he is already unwell, he has a big target on his back .Though this was not explicitly shown, I was once again impressed by old lady Sandy’s strength in this challenge. Jalapoa was definitely wrong about her.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jerry is not well…in this game, if you show the slightest ounce of weakness, the other castaways will pounce on that and vote you out to save themselves.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach once again displays his ego. “I don’t care about comfort, anything else, but winning”. He may seem a bit full of himself, but his head is clearly in the game and winning is his motivation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Brendon finds the idol...as I predicted, it was hidden by treemail…he hides it in the forest…wouldn’t it be crazy if he forgets where he hides it or someone else finds it?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tyson loves seeing people cry when he crushes their dreams. Once again, this reflects the game he is playing. He is the funny man around camp and makes people laugh enough to keep him safe for longer…they don’t know about the type of villain he is yet…he does well at challenges…and he deflecting all the negativities associated with power off him and onto Coach…Tyson could do well in this game…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A can of worms is opened at Tribal Council when Coach openly admits that he is not happy that Erinn thinks that Brendon is a better leader. Erinn is putting herself into even hotter water now because Coach refuses to take second place behind anyone. The best way I believe is to deal with Coach- fuel<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>his ego…tell him what he wants to hear…praise him…given him enough rope, let him take you to the end and ultimately get the pleasure of watching him lose to you. It’s safe to say that Coach’s ego may turn out to be his Achilles Heel…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No surprises that Jerry is voted out. A cliché phrase that’s relevant- based on the voting, this tribe is unified, but based on what’s happening at camp…this tribe could self destruct…If they don’t work to bond as a tribe, Jalapoa will take them down!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coach will probably try to target Brendon next because he is threatened by Brendon’s leadership. Brendon does have the idol…but will he know when to use it? Don’t forget what James, Ozzy and Jason did Brendon…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next week…Sydney uses her god given powers, Tyson does something to build up the bonds in Timbira and Taj strengthens her alliance…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until next week…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">***spoiler alert***if you love to hate Coach and his Assistant Coach, Tocantins will not be the only season that you will see them in…</span></div>sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-25048195046301104332011-07-04T05:13:00.000-07:002011-07-04T05:13:36.967-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"><strong><u>Survivor Tocantins episode 2</u></strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Last week, Carolina was blindsided by Jalapoa and Sandy was spared. But is Sandy still on the outs with her tribe?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">This week…conflict in tribes, a physical challenge, an exile island twist, and another blindside…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Jalapoa is eating termites...just shows just how critical the conditions are in Survivor that leads castaways eat just about anything.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Sierra aligns with Brendon. They look for the hidden immunity idol. Sharing the power of the idol is a good move, because it only guarantees you safety once, and after you play it, you are vulnerable unless you have allies. They are caught by Debbie whilst looking for an idol, and there clever lie might have saved them…for now…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Coach and Candace butt heads around camp. In a confession, she says that his ego will be his downfall… I have a feeling that this is a small taste of the size of coach’s ego… He wants to play a noble game and keep the strongest players, but will the rest of the tribe do the same? </span></span></div><h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: black;">Taj tells her tribe that she is Eddie George’s (NFL) wife. This may be a risky move. In this game, knowledge about another player is power and if you share anything about yourself with another player, they could use this information against you. On the flip side, in order to bond with your tribe, you need to socialize with them.</span></span></h2><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">The challenge… </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">This really physical challenge that involved tribes battling each other in the water for a ball to score a point makes me think that these tribes are well matched, because both tribes played outstandingly and the win was really close.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Tyson, Brendon, Sydney, JT and Stephan scored points for their respective tribes…and Jalapoa wins immunity.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Sydney, whom I suspect will player the flirt card, like prior winners Parvati and Jenna, also has an athletic side. She could also be a serious threat to win this game.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">This football-like challenge may be seem sentimental to Taj, whose husband is on the NFL. She played very hard here. Also, the castaways, Sierra and Sandy, who the tribes initially perceived as week, were also tough in this challenge.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">I predict a rivalry for challenge dominance emerging between Tyson and JT…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">The Exile Island twist...</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">The winning tribe sends one member of the losing tribe to Exile Island and that person must chose a player from the winning tribe to accompany them.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Brendon is chosen from Timbira and he selects Taj from Jalapoa</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">The two have to select an urn, one of which contains a clue for a hidden immunity idol that is hidden back at camp.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Brendon is in a really good position… he is allied with Sierra on his tribe… he has a clue to the first immunity idol with Sierra…and now he has a clue to the second hidden immunity idol. By sharing the clue with Taj, he strengthened his place in this game. Post merge, he already will have a good relationship with Taj, which gives him some safety in this game, and if he and Taj both find the HII’s, they have two powerful weapons. Brendon lies to his tribe about not finding the clue, which Coach falls for.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">If there is a HII hidden at both tribes and the exiled castaways receive one clue, it can be assumed that the idols are hidden in places that are common in both tribes…treemail comes to mind first. Remember in China, James gained possession of both HII”s because both were hidden in the archways in both camps. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Another twist…Brendon is given the opportunity to switch tribes. This is a grand opportunity if he is on the outs with his tribe, because switching tribes to could help him escape the vote. But Brendon does not feel like he is on the outs with the tribe, so he doesn’t consider switching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure how long this window of opportunity remains open for, but if Brendon can somehow get the HII on Timbira and then switch tribes and find the HII at Jalapoa, he will have even more power.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">This twist is similar to the Mutiny Twist in Cook Islands, which saw Candice and Jonathan jumping ship to reunite with Parvati and Adam….a risky move. Remember, if you flip flop through alliances, you can easily flip flop back and bitter jury members are not very forgiving…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Right now, Brendon looks like the biggest strategic threat to win this game…but like I mentioned last week- anything can happen…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Jt comes across as the tribe leader. He was also a dominant force in this weeks challenge as he was last week. As mentioned in my last week’s blog, this target that he is putting on his back puts him in a shaky position in this game. But he seems to be forming a close friendship with Stephan, which could keep him safe…will this alliance last?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Back at Timbira…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Sierra is on the chopping block once again for being on the outs with her tribe from day one.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Candace annoyed with Coach’s antics, targets coach, and allies with Erin.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Coach is playing a dangerous game by making references to his tribe mates as “cancer” and the “poison apple”. If he continues his to be a dictator, he minions could turn around and retaliate against him (as Candace does), or he could piss too many people off and not get enough jury votes to win at the end. Coach is a college girl soccer coach, not a survivor femme fatal coach…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Heading to Tribal, Tyson wants Sierra out, Candace wants Coach gone, and Coach is planning to vote off Candace.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Debbie speaks about trust. She comes across as good hearted, but also possibly too comfortable and confident about her safety in this game. In this game, you have to be a little paranoid and take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Coach may also be the same…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">The votes….Candace is blindsided and Coach gets another ego boost in outplaying her…</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Erin is now playing on thin ice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her ally, Candace, is gone. Will she be able to save herself, or will she be the next lamb sent to the slaughter house?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">The exile island twist and Coach’s attitude received a lot of camera time this week. This could only mean that it will play a big part in the rest of the game….<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="color: black;">***Spoiler alert***Coach will become more polarizing day by day. He tries to make a name for himself as “The Dragon Slayer”…wait and see why….</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;">Next time… one of those blind fold team challenges…. Taj starts to form a four way secret alliance. Who could the four allies be?</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div>sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6339806779554478851.post-70548064244114995442011-06-27T14:11:00.001-07:002011-07-04T05:17:16.635-07:00Survivor Tocantins: The Brazillian HighlandsSurvivor Tocantins episode 1<br />
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39 days, 16 people, 1 survivor<br />
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Survivor is back with a bang and a vicious twist right at the start- the scramble for resources and the first vote…<br />
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The last time an impromptu vote twist was seen was in season 10, where Wanda and Jonathan were booted from Palau.<br />
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First impressions are important and this played big part in this vote….In the game of Survivor-Perception is Reality!<br />
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From Jalapoa, Sandy, the older woman was voted for, while Sierra, the unwell, young, blond girl was voted out by Timbira.<br />
Another twist…Sandy and Sierra are not voted out. They are flown to their respective camps where they are faced with a choice: search for the hidden immunity idol that will protect them in the first tribal council or they can set up their camps.<br />
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Sandy decided to look for the idol. A bad choice in my opinion. She is already an outcast in her tribe, and setting up camp would have definitely scored her some brownie points with her camp. Later, she puts herself in a worse position by isolating herself from her tribe and went looking again for the idol. The idol, if she finds it, will only protect her once. What will she do afterwards? How long will she last?<br />
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Sierra took a different route. By setting up camp and neglecting the idol, she put herself in good faith with her tribe. But is her good deed enough to save her?<br />
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My first impressions of selected castaways<br />
Coach looks like a talker<br />
Jt seems to have a good work ethic<br />
Stephan may not adapt well to the environment<br />
Tyson is the funny guy<br />
Taj is a straight shooter<br />
Spencer , the nineteen year old, is currently the youngest person to play survivor<br />
Brendon is a likely strategist<br />
Carolina is too talkative<br />
Debbie is a free spirit<br />
Sydney may play the flirt card<br />
Joe seems to be trying to be his tribes leader<br />
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The other castaways were not shown enough to formulate a useful first impression comment. “Invisible contestants” do not make it very far historically in Survivor. Will this be the case again? Then again, Danni Boatwright, Tina Wesson and Sandra Diaz-Twine all played an under-the-radar game and won their seasons of Survivor. Survivor is unpredictable- anything can happen!<br />
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The immunity challenge consisted of three parts: A sprint across the water to fetch ladder rungs, building a ladder and then a table puzzle.<br />
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JT dominated the sprint across the water. He will definitely be an asset to his tribe or a threat if he is seen as a challenge dominator. In many past seasons, we have seen possible challenge threats getting an early boot pre-merge…Yau man (Micronesia), Marcus and Dan (Gabon), Aaron (China)…. <br />
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Carolina was shown to be weak, which puts a target on her back. <br />
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Sierra and Sandy worked really hard at building the ladder, which shocked their tribes. Sandy and Taj quickly built the ladder, putting Jalapoa in the lead. However, Brendon and Erin, who worked well together at the table puzzle, led Timbira to victory.<br />
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Sandy is in trouble. She is still seen as an outcast in her tribe, despite her good performance at the Sandy the immunity challenge. But Spencer doesn’t want to vote out Sandy…<br />
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Carolina put herself in a bad situation by being to boisterous around camp, and by performing poorly at the immunity challenge. Taj gives Carolina a warning about her attitude. Later, Joe puts a noose around Carolina’s neck by suggesting Spencer and Jt that they should vote her out. Carolina is not aware that she is on the chopping block…<br />
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Tribal council…we have heard Jeff’s phrase: “Grab your torch and approach the flames and light your torch. In this game fire represents your life. When your fire is gone, so are you,” so many times now that it’s boring.<br />
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Is Sandy crazy? Jeff asks her that. <br />
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The votes…<br />
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Who is more stunned that Carolina received more than one vote? Sandy or Carolina? Sandy looked like she just won the game, and Carolina was just struck dumb….BLINDSIDED!!!!!<br />
Carolina…the tribe has spoken…<br />
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****SPOILER ALERT****A few seasons later we will hear Carolina say: “This game loves blindsiding me”…<br />
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The tribe made a good decision in voting out the weakest link. This game is about numbers and to get numbers you have to keep the strongest tribe mates to win challenge. Will Jalapoa continue to vote off the weaker players to keep their tribe strong, or will they start eliminating threats and simultaneously weaken their own tribe?<br />
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Overall, Sandy and Sierra received a lot of camera time. Does this mean that they will make it far? You will have to wait to see. A sneak peak into next week’s episode reveals a very physical “water-basketball” challenge… Exile Island returns with a twist...things will get awesomely crazy!<br />
Until next week...sheldon_kuppanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558064932317095889noreply@blogger.com